Amid the controversy over the NEET-UG paper leak, calls for the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan are growing louder, with opposition parties intensifying pressure on the Centre. Rahul Gandhi has also joined the chorus, demanding accountability over the examination controversy.
The Congress has been staging protests across the country, seeking the education minister's ouster. On Saturday, the student wing of the Aam Aadmi Party, ASAP, also held a demonstration at Jantar Mantar, demanding the minister’s resignation and calling for a permanent solution to recurring allegations of exam paper leaks.
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Saturday demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should immediately sack Pradhan or take personal accountability.
Pointing out that the hard work of 22 lakh NEET aspirants has gone to waste, the Congress leader, in a video statement, said, "The whole country knows that two days before NEET, its question paper was being distributed on WhatsApp. Dharmendra Pradhan ji says he has nothing to do with the matter. The (Parliamentary) Committee had made recommendations, but he put it in the dustbin on the pretext that opposition people were on the committee and that it was of no use."
The Congress leader alleged that the government had damaged the very foundation of India by allowing what he described as a nexus involving the RSS, the BJP, and individuals placed in universities, including vice chancellors and professors, with the objective of making money.
He claimed that this network had severely damaged India’s education system and alleged that appointments to top academic positions were being influenced more by ideological affiliation than by academic merit, experience, or subject expertise.
Gandhi further alleged that those not aligned with the RSS ideology were being denied opportunities in such positions, and linked this to repeated exam paper leaks across the country, claiming that the future of nearly two crore young people had been affected.
"The PM should immediately order that Dharmendra Pradhan should be sacked and the people who are guilty of this be put in jail," Gandhi said.
In a post on X, along with the video, Gandhi said, "2.2 million NEET aspirants have been betrayed. Yet, Modi ji has not uttered a single word. Remove Dharmendra Pradhan ji immediately, or take personal accountability. Modi ji, SACK Dharmendra Pradhan ji NOW."
In another post in Hindi, Gandhi said, "Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan has betrayed 22 lakh NEET aspirants. Furthermore, he has insulted Parliament itself - by dismissing the Parliamentary Committee's report solely because it included MPs from the Opposition."
Meanwhile, CBI arrested a biology lecturer who was part of the National Testing Agency's (NTA) paper-setting committee for NEET-UG held on May 3. The arrest was made on the basis of questioning of alleged kingpin P V Kulkarni and other accused in the paper leak case.
